


i can see the sun rise

by lostin_space



Series: It Only Takes A Taste [4]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends With Benefits, Hurt/Comfort, Jesse Manes is an asshole, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-31 17:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21449980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space
Summary: Curled up on the little mattress was Alex, bundled up head to toe. The last time he’d seen him so bundled was when he’d been sick. It made him nervous.“Hey,” Michael called softly, “You didn’t text me, so I just… wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Series: It Only Takes A Taste [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529921
Comments: 32
Kudos: 172
Collections: Roswell New Mexico ▶ Michael Guerin / Alex Manes





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i spent most of my day in an overwhelming anxious haze and wrote this as a coping mechanism

Michael waited for a text from Alex for forty minutes.

“You do know you aren’t getting paid to stare at your phone, right?” Liz asked as she bumped his hip. He looked up at her and remembered he was still at work. Whoops.

“Yeah, sorry,” he said, quickly standing up straighter to go bus a few of the tables. As he walked through the kitchen doors with a bin full of dishes, he eyed Liz. “Hey, you heard from Alex?”

He knew he wasn’t actually supposed to ask her or Maria about Alex because all that did was get them both questioned to death. God forbid two queer men have a friendship. They don’t hound them about every man they talk to. But Michael was getting worried so he being the rules.

“Why?” Liz asked, raising as eyebrow at him. He bit on his bottom lip for a second before turning to the sink, trying to seem nonchalant.

“He’s having his weekly dinner with his brother tonight and he usually texts me throughout it and I haven’t heard from him in almost an hour,” he said, “You think they killed him?”

“His phone probably died, I wouldn’t overthink it,” Liz shrugged, heading out of the kitchen doors. He nodded and decided not to point out that Alex went out of his way to prevent his phone from dying. He brought his charger and portable charger everywhere and started to get panicky whenever it hit 30%. His phone definitely didn’t die.

Still, Michael managed to rationalize why he hadn’t heard from him for the rest of his shift. He had the closing shift and didn’t manage to get out until midnight. He still never heard from Alex and decided to go to his apartment to check on him. He tried not to feel awkward about the fact Liz was going to his place to see Max and he was going to her place to see Alex.

He checked his phone one last time before knocking on the door.

“Hey,” Maria said when she opened it. She didn’t smile or tease him for showing up. She almost looked thankful. “Good timing.”

“For what?” he asked, but he was quickly just shoved towards Alex’s blocked off corner of the living room before she went to her bedroom. Michael blinked stupidly a few times before entering Alex’s sanctuary.

Curled up on the little mattress was Alex, bundled up head to toe. The last time he’d seen him so bundled was when he’d been sick. It made him nervous.

“Hey,” Michael called softly, “You didn’t text me, so I just… wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Alex made a non-committal little noise and nodded his head, balling up even more. Michael toed off his shoes and shrugged off his jacket, plopping down on the floor beside the bed. He didn’t know what was wrong, but he wasn’t about to just leave him like this.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly. Alex didn’t move which felt like a clear indicator that something was indeed very wrong. “I can sit beside you all night or I can take up some of the space on your bed, take your pick. I have to warn you, I smell like burgers.”

Alex scooted closer to the wall and Michael took that as his answer. They didn’t really say they cuddled out loud, that was a line that felt weird to acknowledge that they crossed, but it was something they did on the nights they spent together. Especially in his tiny bed, it was basically impossible not to be on top of each other.

Michael molded into him from behind, wrapping him up tight in his arms. He settled his chin and his shoulder and peered at his face. His makeup was smudged badly, mascara colored tear tracks seeming the most obvious. Michael gave him a squeeze.

“Need me to go beat someone up for you?” he asked softly, kissing his shoulder, “I bet I could take on all three of your brothers at once. Fuck military training, I got the power wrecklessness on my side.” Alex huffed the smallest laugh and it felt like a win.

After a moment, Alex shifted and turned around, burying his face into Michael’s chest. Michael held him impossibly tight with one arm and rubbed his back with the other. He pressed kisses to his head.

“I’m just gonna squeeze you until the bad feelings go away, okay?” Michael said softly once he realized this wasn’t going to just be solved with a friendly round of sex. Alex just sniffled and nodded.

He squeezed him until well past sunrise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse sucks.

Michael waited until Maria left for class the next morning before he said anything. He wasn’t actually going to say anything at all, but Alex hadn’t moved when his alarm for his 8 AM class went off and Michael took that as a bad sign. Alex didn’t miss classes at all.

“You wanna talk about it?” he whispered gently, stroking his hair as gently as he could. He knew neither of them had slept. Michael was too worried to sleep and Alex’s crying had started back up around four.

“No,” Alex said, breathing slow and methodical as Michael started rubbing his back again. It felt like he was just guiding each breath out of his lungs.

“Okay, well, any other day, I might’ve let it slide, but you really worried me, so I would like to know,” Michael said. His eyes were closed and he stayed happily entwined with Alex. Every time he laid with Alex, memories of how cold he used to get back whenever he slept in the bed of his truck. He’d gotten so used to going to sleep whilst shivering that, the first night he’d slept over at Alex’s, he could hardly sleep. He just wanted to _lay _with him. He wanted to enjoy it.

“It’s stupid,” Alex whined. Though, instead of pulling away, he melded in closer. His foot slid up Michael’s leg and hooked around his knee, almost like he couldn’t get close enough. A fuzzy feeling built in Michael’s stomach at the idea.

“Nothing that makes you upset is stupid,” Michael assured. Alex groaned. “C’mon, tell me. I wanna help you. I wanna make you feel better.”

Alex sucked in a slow breath and pulled further away than he had since Micahel climbed into his bed. His makeup was still fucked, but it looked a little better now that a healthy amount had rubbed off onto Michael’s shirt. Michael smiled at him.

“If I tell you how stupid it is, what do I get?”

Michael laughed softly and rubbed his thumb over Alex’s cheek. _That _sounded like Alex.

“Whatever you want,” he offered. Alex raised an eyebrow and tilted his chin up. Michael became momentarily fixated. God, he was gorgeous. 

“I tell you and I eat at the Crashdown for free for life, sound good?” he said. Michael scoffed and almost argued at the idea of constantly having to pay for his meals, but he really did want to know what was wrong. “Oh, oh, _and _I get head every hookup for a month and I don’t have to reciprocate. _And _I get to keep that blanket from your bed because it’s, like, super soft.”

“Okay, Jesus, your stakes are set,” Michael laughed, dropping his hand off his face, “You get all of those things, you ass, just tell me what’s wrong.”

Alex smiled softly, but it slowly faded and he moved close again. He let out a heavy sigh and Michael put his hand on his hip.

“My dad showed up at dinner and it was just… not fun,” Alex admitted, his fingers flitting over the hem of Michael’s shirt and sliding under, “It was basically a 90-minute roast Alex session.”

“Dude, why the hell didn’t you text me? You know I could’ve left work to go pick you up,” Michael scoffed. Alex just slid his hand up higher beneath his shirt.

“I didn’t wanna bother you.”

“Alex,” Michael laughed, shaking his head, “You are my best friend in the entire world, you can bother me any day of the week for anything. Especially if it’s your fucking dad, literally fuck that guy. What kind of friend would I be if I ditched you to get shit on for over an hour?”

“Aw, I’m your best friend?” Alex cooed teasingly, obviously choosing to change the subject to literally anything else. Michael knew very little about Alex’s relationship with his dad and a lot of what he _did _know was stuff Liz and Maria told him. It was enough to know that he didn’t want Alex around the guy. “How cute.”

“Will you shut up? You know you’re my best friend,” Michael chuckled, gently shoving his shoulder. Alex pinched his side. “I literally trust you not to give me an STD, that’s, like, the most best friend thing I could ever do.”

Alex rolled his eyes dramatically, mocking a laugh. Then he eyed him for a minute and asked, “Why aren’t you giving me head yet?”

“Oh, sorry, didn’t realize we were hooking up,” Michael snorted, but he was already untangling himself from Alex’s sheets, “You are ridiculously demanding, you know that?”

“Of course I do. I have to be or else you might fall in love with me and that would be shitty,” Alex said simply, smiling that super proud smile. Michael stuck his tongue out at him before pressing a kiss to his lips. It barely lasted a second before Alex put his hand on the top of his head and started pushing him down.

“Dude!” Michael said, outright cackling as he looked to Alex who was smiling up at him in a way that was super refreshing considering the night full of crying. “You’re such a dick.”

“Mhm,” Alex agreed, pushing on his head again. Michael was still snickering as he allowed himself to be pushed beneath the sheets. He stole one last look at him beforehand, though.

“Hey, you promise you’ll text me next time if your dad shows up?” he asked. Alex huffed, but nodded and gave him a smile.

“Yeah, sure, now get to work.”

Michael chose to believe this was progress.

**Author's Note:**

> also on my tumblr: spaceskam


End file.
